My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 584 Ghost Mark
Time passes day by day.

Two more of the lower temples of Goose and Sheep Sect have disbanded, and more and more disciples from the lower temples are gathering at Goose and Sheep Mountain.

More tents and wooden houses appeared at the foot of the mountain, and the hillside where Chen Mu's wooden building was located was no longer the edge of the mountainside building complex.

Fortunately, the hillside is high and remote, and many people avoid building their homes there because they find it troublesome to go up and down the mountain. This allows the surrounding environment of his residence to remain relatively peaceful and tranquil.

Chen Mu opened his eyes as soon as the sun rose that morning.

As I got up and dressed, black smoke from the Five Ghosts enveloped me, swallowing and absorbing any dust or grime.

After having breakfast and adjusting his appearance in front of the bronze mirror, Chen Mu, wearing Li Moliang's face, went out and hurried towards the Pingjiang Dojo on the east side of Eyang Mountain.

These past few days, he has had to go to the Pingjiang Taoist temple every day to assist with shipbuilding. He cannot be late or leave early, and he has to work a full five hours a day.

"Even after transmigrating to cultivate immortality, he still has to go to work like in his previous life. Tsk... that's something else." Chen Mu shook his head slightly.

"Forget it, I'll just go to work. As long as I can get away from Yunzhou, it's not like I can't slack off and take a break."

……

Pingjiang, located on the east side of Eyang Mountain, is a tributary of the Tongtian River. It has a large volume of water and a deep and wide channel.

The Pingjiang Taoist temple is located on the riverbed.

As usual, Chen Mu, using the air bubbles created by the water-repelling pearl, arrived at the top of a huge tortoise shell.

After nodding and greeting the familiar person next to him, Chen Mu, as usual, skillfully cast the mustard seed spell into the tortoise shell.

At this moment, twenty-one silver bead-shaped magic talismans floated and sank within the jade seed.

Although he didn't deliberately cultivate it, he still accumulated a lot of Mustard Seed Spell experience through daily use.

"It won't be long before the mustard seed talisman is fully condensed, which is a pleasant surprise."

After working for half an hour, Chen Mu glanced around and noticed that many Qi Refiners were beginning to adjust their breathing and rest. He immediately stopped what he was doing and sat cross-legged on the platform to relax and steal a moment of leisure.

The gray wall came into view, and Chen Mu looked at one of the columns.

Dark Cloud True Method: 9424/10000/Fourth Tier;

Over the past ten days, he has spent most of his free time practicing the Dark Cloud True Method. His progress is rapid, and he is on the verge of advancing to the next level.

With a thought, brand new dark cloud talismans appeared within the jade seed. As they condensed and shattered, strands of profound mysteries of the true law emerged in his mind.

……

Five days later.

On the tortoise shell at the Pingjiang Taoist temple, Chen Mu closed his eyes and took a break as usual.

The magical power within the jade seed surged continuously, and the gray cloud-like magical runes connected in patches, resembling a large dark cloud that enveloped the area around the divine aperture.

At a certain moment, the entire dark cloud trembled and rapidly expanded. Then it suddenly contracted, and with a whoosh, it slipped through the hollowed-out gaps of the divine aperture and entered the interior of the nine-layered divine aperture talisman, with only wisps of mist faintly permeating the outer perimeter of the divine aperture.

"Is this... done?"

Chen Mu was delighted and immediately checked the gray wall.

Dark Cloud True Method: The Limit;
"Is this the peak? I thought this true technique could have many more levels."

Chen Mu calmed his mind and began to accept the insights that the gray wall offered.

Even a brief glance at it was full of pleasant surprises.

The secret of the Dark Cloud True Method lies in the Dark Cloud Talisman; the more thoroughly one comprehends it, the more talismans one can condense. Now, having reached its limit, the number of Dark Cloud Talismans has soared to three thousand.

The entire talisman expanded several times in size, demonstrating extremely precise control over the primordial energy.

He immediately began to try the spiritual purification.

A barely perceptible hissing sound echoed in my mind, followed by faint, tingling pain, as a new transformation began deep within my body.

“In the past, when refining one’s spiritual aperture, it was either opened or stopped, just like flooding.”

"Now, however, they are in control, operating meticulously on every part, just like targeted drip irrigation."

"The primordial energy is fully utilized, saving half of the primordial energy used in each refinement!"

"Not only that, the biggest change is in the total time spent on refining." Chen Mu carefully sensed it, and his smile became even more obvious.

Previously, the purification of the divine aperture could only take half an hour at most, but the subsequent physical recovery and transformation would take as long as half a month.

With today's precise control, the refining speed has slowed down, and a single refining process can take as long as seven or eight days.

However, after a day or two of rest, a new round of refinement can begin, which greatly shortens the time!

"As expected of the secret teachings of the Li Yang Dao, it is indeed profound and extraordinary!" Chen Mu couldn't help but smile.

……

In the following days, the Dark Cloud True Method operated autonomously, slowly and continuously refining the divine aperture.

Chen Mu only needed to spare a bit of his attention to whether the primordial energy within the Dark Cloud True Method was sufficient; if it was lacking, he could replenish it, and he didn't need to worry about anything else.

The fourth stage of Qi cultivation, the River Chariot practice, has become a simple, automated practice.

His mood improved considerably, and he kept smiling.

He works with exceptional enthusiasm, even reducing his time for slacking off...

Yes, this cannot be reduced at all.

At most, I'll be a little more careful and meticulous when inscribing the mustard seed talisman.

……

Several days later, Chen Mu implanted the last mustard seed magic talisman into the large area of ​​the millstone beneath his feet.

Instead of rushing to Lei Wen to receive a new mission, he sat cross-legged as usual, pretending to rest, while his mind sank into the jade seed to check the progress of the divine aperture refinement.

"We'll be able to complete this round of refinement in two more days."

"After a day of rest, I can begin the sixteenth Divine Aperture Refinement."

"At most one month, the second stage of the Divine Aperture can be completed."

"If everything goes smoothly, I will be able to fully master the River Chariot technique and complete the fourth stage of Qi Refining within two years," Chen Mu silently calculated.

After the completion of the True Method of Dark Clouds, the overall time spent practicing the River Chariot was reduced by nearly a year compared to before.

"It's a pity that the Dark Cloud True Method has reached its peak. It would be even better if its efficiency could be improved a little more," Chen Mu thought greedily.

After watching the automatically operating Dark Cloud True Method for a while, and just as I was about to ponder other secret techniques, a voice suddenly rang in my ears.

"Fellow Daoists, thanks to everyone's joint efforts, the external magical restrictions on the Water-Avoiding Shuttle have been completely completed."

Chen Mu opened his eyes and looked up to see Lei Wen standing on top of the tortoise shell.

Noticing the gazes of the crowd, Lei Wen calmly used a secret technique to amplify his voice underwater.

"Later, everyone will follow me into the inside of the tortoise shell to begin the construction of the ferry's interior."

Most of the people breathed a sigh of relief; after so many days of working in the oppressive underwater environment, they had finally successfully passed through one phase.

……

After promising various rewards, Lei Wen led everyone to the front of the tortoise shell.

The interior of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Turtle had long been hollowed out, and the openings where its head and forelimbs originally stood were now shrouded in an invisible restrictive force, like a thin film keeping the water out.

Chen Mu followed the crowd forward and easily passed through the barrier, as if walking through a curtain of water vapor. Apart from a slight coolness, he felt no other unusual sensations.

Then, a huge, brightly lit space appeared before him.

It's as tall as a ten-story building, and its length and width are about the size of two football fields.

"The Mustard Seed Spell is indeed expanding the internal space of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Tortoise." Chen Mu looked around with great interest.

He had previously used his listening technique to secretly investigate and knew that the internal space of the tortoise shell was much larger than its external appearance. But even after seeing it with the naked eye, he still couldn't help but marvel.

“The Mustard Seed Spell is probably related to the ‘Thousand-Mile Household Bag Miniature Spell’,” Chen Mu said knowingly.

"Fellow Daoists, the construction of the ferry has entered a new phase, and we still need everyone to work together." Lei Wen said sincerely, "It is possible that you will all have to ride this water-avoiding shuttle to cross the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

"For the sake of my Lei family, and for your own safety, I hope that all of you fellow Daoists can work together to improve this water-avoiding ferry."

……

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms Tortoise was already enormous, and with the Mustard Seed Mantra expanding its space, the interior was extremely spacious. Furthermore, with the addition of special magical restrictions, the air was also quite fresh.

In the following days, new Qi cultivators were brought into the tortoise shell by Lei Wen every day to assist in shipbuilding.

Some, like Chen Mu and others, set up restrictions, while others began to use lightweight and sturdy animal bones to build cabins and pavilions, dividing the internal space of the tortoise shell.

Chen Mu and the others were assigned to different positions by Lei Wen to continue pouring mustard seed talismans into the inner wall of the tortoise shell.

The outer shell of the tortoise is bluish-gray, resembling a reef, while the inner wall is a warm, smooth white, like white jade. Fine, delicate red veins are faintly visible within.

While resting, Chen Mu couldn't help but take a closer look and soon felt a sense of familiarity.

"Is it a water-repelling spell?"

"The Hundred Refinements Hall bought the Water-Avoiding Pearl at a high price, just to feed the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Tortoise?" Chen Mu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He had been skeptical of the news before, but now he had no choice but to believe it.

"The Twenty-Four Solar Terms Tortoise is quite magical. It is said that if you feed it special materials, its shell has a chance to develop the same ability."

"I never expected that eating the water-repelling pearl would actually give me water-repelling properties."

He sold quite a few water-repelling beads back then, and maybe he fed them to this Twenty-Four Solar Terms tortoise in front of him.

Thinking this, Chen Mu felt a strange sense of relief.

At that moment, a slender, spiraling, twisted pattern suddenly flashed with an unusual crimson hue.

Chen Mu couldn't help but look at the delicate lines, but as he looked, he stiffened and a sense of unease arose in his heart.

"Red-Eyed Demon Mark?!"

"No way..."

He did sell quite a few water-repelling beads back then, but what he sold even more of... were the Crimson-Eyed Ghost-Patterned Beads!

He leaned closer to examine it more carefully.

A moment later, Chen Mu's lips twitched, and he straightened up with a sheepish grin.

The good news is that the unusual line was very small, almost invisible.

The bad news is that the markings are indeed those of a Crimson-Eyed Demon.

"How many Crimson-Eyed Demon-Patterned Beads did I sell back then?"

"This shouldn't affect the water-repelling effect of the tortoise shell, right?"

The thought that he might have to ride this ferry in the future made Chen Mu's face darken.

This is a classic case of shooting yourself in the foot!

(End of this chapter)